Process for producing homogeneous bodies of chemically-pure tungsten metal of any desired shape.



0. VOIGTLANDER @I'H. LOHMANN.

PROCESS FOR PRODUCING HOMOGENEOUS BODIES 0F CHEMICALLY PURE TUNGSTEN METAL OF ANY DESIRED SHAPE. APPLICATION FILED DEC. 2. I913.

1 ,2 1 2,426. a t d J a 16, 1917.

' 20 (wolfram) in homogeneous pieces of TED STATES PATENT OFFICE. f

orrr'o VOIGTLZ'LNDER AND rweo LOHMANN, or EssEN-oN-rH'E-nUfin, GERMANY.

PROCESSFOR PRODUCING HOMOGENEOUS BODIES OF CHEMICALLY-PURE METAL OF ANY DESIRED SHAPE.

TUNGSTEN Patented Jan. 16, 1917.

Application med December a, 1913. serial No. 504,206.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, Orro Vorcrnlinnnn, manufacturer, and HUGO LOHMANN, engineer, citizens of the German Empire, and 5 residents of Essen-on-the-Ruhr, Germany,

have invented certain new and useful improvements in processes for producing homogeneous bodies of chemically-pure tungsten metal of any desired shape; and we m hereby declare the following to be a full,

clear, and exact description of the invention,. such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompany- 5 ing drawings, and to letters or figures of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

- In the patent application Serial No. 7 56214 a process for producing tungsten metal any desired form is disclosed, the characteristic feature of said process beingthat a mixture containing for example WO Al is placed in a fireproof chamber of a furnace 5 of any desired construction, in which the heat of reaction combined with the heat of the furnace causes the W0 reduced by the Al to be converted into a compact piece of tungsten metal. If it is desired .to produce 0 chemically pure tungsten metal by said process the W0 and the admixed Al must also be chemically pure, because all impurities are generally present in the tungsten metal obtained. This is the case whether I-I WO, or WO or other oxids are treated. It is known that the production of pure oxids, according to any existing process, is accompanied by great difliculties and expense. Further it is known that the production of chemically pur'e'metals from ores or oxids is also accompanied by great difi'iculties and expense.

In all the processes heretofore used for producing chemically pure metals, more or 46 less impure metals are firstly obtainedfrom the ores of oxids by tedious metallurgical methods. Thereafter the admixtures are removed by complicated chemical processes. According to the present process chem- 50 ically pure tungsten can be obtained in comact ixids 1n one single 0 erationn Further, the present process ena les chemically. pure metal of any kind to be obtained in one operation in the simplest and cheapest manner.

the wheel a a number of electric furnaces 0 pieces from impure 'anhydrids and- For this purpose a. mixture'of WO Al, for example, is subjected to'centrifugal force in the heated chamber of the furnace, so that all impurities are separated. Or, if it is desired to obtain chemically pure iron,- the powdered ore and the theoretically "correct quantity of powdered carbon and lime are subjected to centrifugal force in the heated chamber of a rotary furnace, so that all admixtures and impurities are separated.

Several processes already exist, for exam ple, that described in the German Patent "80041, class 14", or British Patent 16545/ 1890, according to which molten metal or ore is purified or separated by means of centrifugal force. The present process differs from such existing processes by the fact that not ready molten metals, ores, or metal compounds, are subjected to centrifugal force, but the production of the chemically pure metals from ores or oxids is effected with the assistance of centrifugal force in an electrically heated rotary furnace in one operation.

' The adjacent drawing illustrates by way of example one construction of an apparatus for carrying out this process.

The wheel a is mounted on the horizontally, or vertically, arranged shaft '6. On

are'arranged radially or tangentially. To a plated are attached the slide contacts 6 and' e By means of these slide contacts and by the contact rails f, f the electric current is conducted to the furnace. 1

In the apparatus-illustrated on the drawing the heated chambers g of the furnaces 0 have a tubular form, and the outer openings of said tubes 9 can be closed by covers it. With the inner openings of the tubes 9 communicate pipes i which all lead to a rotary pipe 70 at the mlddle of the wheel a. The pipe is leads to the receptacle Z, which is filled with the material to be treated.

The process is carried out as follows: When the circuit has been closed and the furnaces 0 have reached the requisite temperature, the wheel a is caused to rotate. Then, the mixture to be treated, for example WO AI, is forced out of the receptacle Z, together with a reducing gas, for example hydrogen, by pneumatic means, as is well 4 known, through the pipes 70 and i into the heated chambers g of the furnaces c. In said chambers the mixture is subjected to what less than the theoretically calculated quantity of Al is present. If more than this theoretical quantity of Al is present in ad-v dition to the known pneumatic charge of the furnace c, an indifferent gas, for example nitrogen, or, if the excess of Al is considerable, an oxidizing gas, for example compressed air, may be used. By such means chemically pure, and, as the centrifugal force also simultaneously separatesall gaseous reacting products quite dense metal is obtained.

If another chemically pure metal, for example iron, is to be obtained, the receptacle Z is filled with the usual powdered mixture of iron ore, carbon, and lime, and this mixture is then treated in the manner above explained with an oxidizing gas when there is an excess of carbon, and with a reducing gas,

if there is less than the requisite quantity of carbon, and with an indifferent gas, when working with the absolutely correct quan tity of carbon, said mixture being forced through the pipes 70 and '5 into the heated chambers g of' the furnaces 0. In these chambers the reaction of the mixture takes place, and the various constituents are separated by centrifugal force. In such cases, in which solid reducing substances, such as carbon, aluminium, etc., are not employed, but the reduction of the oxids and the oxidation of the admixtures is effected by gases, such gases are also used'for pneumatically charging the furnaces.

If more easily melted metal than iron, for which the temperature of'the furnaces suffices to maintain-themolten condition, are to be produced according to the present process, in order to obtain a continuous operation in known manner, the V8.11011S products can be caught up by outlet pipes provided in the particular zones of the tubes 9.

According to the present process it is pos- 'sible' to produce chemically pure metal of any kind in such a cheap manner that it will be possible to use the same for technical purposes to a very extensive degree.

The process of producing chemically I 'pure' metals, which comprises electrically heating a furnace chamber, supplying a reducing charge to said heated chamber and charge to centrifugal action.

4. The process of obtaining chemically pure metals, which comprises su plying to a heated chamber rotating at su eient speed for centrifugal separation a reducing charge containing aluminum under the action of a in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

OTTO 'VOIGTLANDER. I HUGO LOHMANN.

Witnesses:

ALBERT NUFER, FRANCES Noun.

amber by a means of a reducing gas while su jecting the 

